


Bump

by iamagraveyard



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Cute, Established Relationship, FTM, Ferard, Fingering, Fluff, Fluffy, Frerard, Gay Sex, Husbands, M/M, MCR, Male Pregnancy, Mpreg, My Chem, Pregnancy, Pregnant Gerard Way, Sex, Slash, Sweet, Trans, Trans Gerard Way, Trans Male Character, frank iero - Freeform, gerard way - Freeform, m/m - Freeform, my chemical romance - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-01-24 11:09:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21337264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamagraveyard/pseuds/iamagraveyard
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Kristin Blanford/Mikey Way
Comments: 50
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [10rings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/10rings/gifts).

It’s Halloween night and 33-year-old Gerard Iero-Way is feeling frazzled as he stands over the stovetop looking down at the too-hot frying pan which is filling the room with smoke from the badly burned vegan chicken breasts it’s holding. Gerard takes the pan off the burner and opens the window above the kitchen sink to let out some of the unsavoury air and to prevent the smoke detector from going off which would definitely make his pounding headache even worse if it were to start ringing right now. 

Gerard’s intended plan was to surprise Frank, his husband of two years, by making a three course meal (including baking his first-ever cake) to celebrate Frank’s 29th birthday, but when he looks at the clock and sees that Frank is due home any moment now and he has not cooked a single dish successfully, he realizes that his efforts have failed. He opens the oven door and peeks inside, taking a look at the cake that’s supposed to be baking and hoping that at least the cake will turn out. For some reason though the cake is refusing to rise in the oven—it has been in there for nearly an hour and still looks as flat and as unbaked as ever. In retrospect, Gerard is starting to recall that he _may_ have forgotten to add the baking powder to the batter... He sighs and shakes his head, silently blaming his absent-mindedness on the “baby brain” phenomenon, which he swears is real. Either way, being 30 weeks pregnant with Frank’s baby definitely isn’t making it any easier to focus on this ambitious task. 

“Oh my God, this is a fucking disaster...” Gerard says to himself exasperatedly, realizing that he’s not even going to have a birthday cake for Frank and he can’t even go pick one up because he can barely even fit in front of the steering wheel of the car anymore with how big his bump has gotten over the past 7 months. 

He feels frustrated by his failure and puts both his hands on his face—transferring a light dusting of flour onto his flushed cheeks—as he looks around the smoky kitchen at the mess he’s made: there are globs of cake batter on the countertops, dirty dishes piled up in the sink, burnt vegan chicken breasts sitting disowned in a smoking pan on the stovetop...and a very pregnant and flustered Gerard is standing in the middle of it all, feeling overwhelmed and unaccomplished. Gerard suddenly feels lightheaded and he holds onto the edge of the countertop to steady himself and breathes deeply, trying to fight the wave of nausea that has just come over him. He hears his heart begin to pound loudly in his ears and his face begin to feel prickly with heat as beads of sweat form on his forehead and upper lip. Just as Gerard starts seeing black spots and getting tunnel vision, Frank is walking into the room and looking at him with a very worried expression on his face. 

“Gerard, oh my God...” Frank says concernedly, rushing over to his husband who looks really unwell and as pale as a ghost right now. “Are you okay, honey? Are you in pain?” he asks, placing a hand on the small of Gerard’s back and holding one of his hands, afraid he’s going to pass out at any moment. Frank’s heart is racing with anxiety as he puts his arm firmly around his pregnant husband’s waist, his brain forcing him to think of the worst-case scenario as he carefully leads Gerard over to the couch and sits him down gently. Gerard is feeling so weak and nauseous right now that he can barely open his eyes and it’s making Frank worry that maybe something isn’t right with the baby and they need to go to the hospital right away. 

“I’m not in pain...I just feel...really warm...and faint,” Gerard manages to say between his shallow breaths. He’s closing his eyes and leaning his head against the back of the couch now, the colour still completely drained from his face.

“Here, take this off—“ Frank says. He reaches for the hem of the black, woollen shawl that Gerard is wearing and pulls it off of him, up and over his head, exposing the red T-shirt he’s wearing underneath. Frank momentarily admires the way the slightly-too-small T-shirt is hugging the curves of his husband’s adorable baby-bump and then he gets up to fetch a cool, damp washcloth to press against Gerard’s forehead along with a glass of ice water for him to sip on. 

“You probably just got overheated from all that cooking you were doing,” Frank says, trying to stay calm and convince himself that overheating is in fact all it was while attentively pressing the cool washcloth against Gerard’s flour-dusted cheeks and forehead. 

Gerard silently nods his head, eyes still closed. “Yeah, probably,” he agrees. 

Gerard has been feeling nauseous since morning and therefore hasn’t eaten anything all day which has most likely contributed to his near-fainting spell. 

“Are you feeling any better?” Frank asks after a while.

“Starting to,” Gerard nods. He opens his eyes and looks at Frank.

“I think we should try and get in to see Dr. McInnes tomorrow,” Frank says.

Gerard nods his head. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” he says. 

“Why were you wearing this while you were cooking anyway?” Frank asks, holding up the black, woollen shawl that he’d stripped off of his husband moments before. “It’s so damn warm in here,” he comments.

Gerard sighs. “Because I’ve been feeling absolutely huge and disgusting lately and that shawl sort of hides my body,” he admits glumly, and before he knows it he starts to cry (those damn pregnancy hormones) and he reaches out for Frank to hold him.

“Aww, baby, come here...” Frank says gently, wrapping his arms around Gerard and pulling him close against himself. “I love how your body looks right now, G; you’re so fricken beautiful and adorable. And your body is our baby’s home right now and that’s so special and fucking _amazing_. I admire you every single day, sweetheart. I love you so much...” Frank says, tucking a lock of Gerard’s shiny, black hair behind his ear. His hair has gotten so much thicker and healthier-looking because of the pregnancy hormones and over the last few months Frank has been taking every opportunity he can to run his fingers through it or otherwise touch it. 

Gerard looks up at Frank and he smiles a little as Frank wipes the tears away from his husband’s pretty eyes with his thumbs. 

“Thank you, Frankie. I love you,” Gerard says. “And I’m sorry about tonight,” he adds quietly. 

“What are you apologizing for, babe?” Frank asks with a perplexed expression on his face. 

“I really wanted to make you a special dinner and a cake for your birthday but absolutely _nothing_ turned out right...and now I’m ruining this night even more by being super emotional for no reason.”

Frank laughs. “You haven’t ruined anything, G. It was insanely sweet of you to even _try_ to make a special birthday meal for me. I think you took on way more than you should be taking on right now though; my seven month pregnant husband shouldn’t be working that hard in the kitchen even if it is my birthday,” Frank says. “You need to take it easy until the delivery, babe. I know that’s hard for you to do ‘cause you always like to stay busy...but remember how high your blood pressure was at the last prenatal visit and how Dr. McInnes told you to reduce your stress level?” Frank says.

“Yeah, I remember,” Gerard says, and he smiles a little because Frank’s talking a mile a minute right now and it’s so adorable and endearing when he gets like this. “You’re worrying again, Frankie—remember your breathing,” Gerard says with a playful smirk, referencing a common quote from the instructor of the prenatal classes they’ve been taking together. 

Frank chuckles. “I can’t help worrying about you, babe. I love you—both of you—so much,” he says. He leans in towards Gerard and plants a soft, sweet kiss on his lips while gently placing a hand on Gerard’s round, pregnant belly, pushing his T-shirt up slightly to rub slow circles against his bare skin. 

Gerard sighs pleasantly into the kiss and closes his eyes. “Love you, too, babe,” he says against Frank’s lips. 

Frank suddenly pulls back, parting their lips, and he just looks at Gerard and smiles a smile that makes Gerard’s heart melt because they can both feel the baby start kicking at that moment. 

“I think our little bean wants out...” Gerard says, smiling as he looks at his husband, who has an awe-filled expression on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. Gerard gently places his hand on top of Frank’s.

“Soon, little one...” Frank smiles, looking down at both of their hands resting together on top of G’s baby-bump.


	2. Chapter 2

It’s a Saturday morning in late November and Frank is lying awake in bed beside a sleeping Gerard. He has his arm over Gerard’s body and he’s gently rubbing his cute, pregnant belly, thinking about how excited he is to meet their little one who’s due to arrive in just one month’s time. Frank really can’t believe Gerard’s bump has gotten even bigger over the past month. When Gerard was 7 months pregnant Frank was sure his belly size had maxed out, but now at 8 months Gerard looks like he’s literally ready to burst and Frank can’t even imagine how exhausting it must be for him to walk around with all that extra weight every day and to deal with the discomfort that comes with it—he certainly doesn’t think he could handle it with as much grace as Gerard is. Frank is in constant awe of his amazing husband. 

Gerard shifts around where he‘s lying in bed, slowly waking up and groaning a little as he moves. This final trimester of his pregnancy has been filled with more intense backaches, more frequent trips to the bathroom to pee, sleeplessness from heartburn and even more waddling around awkwardly and not being able to see his feet at all when he looks down. As much as Gerard is enjoying the experience of being pregnant, he can’t wait to have this baby and for his body to get back to normal so that all the discomfort he’s been feeling can end.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Frank says softly, kissing Gerard’s bare shoulder as he lies behind him in a spooning position.

“Morning, Frankie,” Gerard says sleepily, yawning and shifting around in bed again, trying to find a comfortable position for his aching lower back. He looks at the clock and groans when he sees that it’s only 7:30 a.m. Frank’s always been an early riser but lately Gerard has been feeling absolutely exhausted all the time no matter how many hours of sleep he gets at night and he’s totally not feeling up for being out of bed any time before 9 a.m. today. “I’m not getting up yet,” he announces, burying his face in the soft pillow he’s lying on.

Frank chuckles. “I know you’re not,” he says, nuzzling his face against the back of Gerard’s neck, enjoying the feeling of his longish, jet-black hair tickling his skin. “How’re you feeling, baby?”

“My back is sore...but otherwise I’m good,” Gerard says, smiling to himself a little as he enjoys the way Frank is cuddling him right now. He feels the bulge of Frank’s semi-hard dick pressing against him and longs for the day when he’s finally back in the right physical condition to make love to his husband again. Frank’s enjoying pressing himself up against Gerard’s butt; it’s gotten somewhat bigger with the baby weight he’s gained which Frank finds incredibly sexy. He misses being physically close to G in this way so much. He definitely wants to make love to his husband even in his very pregnant state but Gerard hasn’t felt well or comfortable enough to since the second trimester and Frank has been super respectful and supportive of Gerard’s personal decision to abstain from sex throughout the rest of the pregnancy.

“Want me to get the heating pad for you?” Frank asks, pressing a soft kiss against the back of Gerard’s neck. 

“No, it’s okay,” Gerard says, sighing lightly. “It doesn’t really help much anymore.”

“You know, getting up and moving around might help,” Frank suggests. “Why don’t we go take Peppers out for a walk around the lake or something? You can always go back to bed for a nap later if you’re still feeling tired.”

“Hmm...okay. That sounds nice,” Gerard says.

Frank’s a little surprised that Gerard went for his idea as he’s been sleeping in most mornings these last few weeks, but he’s really glad they’re going to go out and get some fresh air together. They both get out of bed and get dressed in warm clothing as it’s a chilly late-fall morning. As the couple make their way downstairs Frank has a strong urge to start his day by putting on a pot of coffee, but he knows he can’t; he hasn’t been allowed to make coffee in the house since Gerard had gotten pregnant because it triggers his morning sickness. 

Downstairs in the foyer Frank gets Peppers leashed while Gerard sits down on the bench by the front door. Frank then kneels down in front of Gerard where he’s sitting and puts his shoes on for him so he doesn’t have to go through the challenge of bending over with his protruding baby-bump in the way. 

Frank and Gerard walk Peppers around the lake by their home for about thirty minutes and by the end of it Gerard’s lower back is actually feeling much less stiff and achy, which Gerard thanks Frank for. They return home where Frank starts making some tea and toast for breakfast (Gerard can’t stomach anything else right now) while Gerard rests on the couch. As Frank is buttering the toast, his phone starts ringing on the kitchen counter and he answers it as Gerard looks on.

“Hello?” Frank says into the phone’s receiver when he picks up. “Hi...yes, it is. Oh! Okay. Yes, that sounds perfect—we’ll be home. Okay. Thank you so much!” Frank hangs up the phone and looks at Gerard with an excited expression on his face.

“Who was that?” Gerard asks curiously.

“It was someone from the furniture company we ordered the nursery rocking chair from. They said it’s going to be delivered sometime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today,” Frank says.

“Oh!” Gerard says, his eyes lighting up as he smiles. “Wow, we bought that chair months ago...I honestly almost forget what it looks like,” he admits.

“I know, me too,” Frank says, laughing lightly. “That’s the last thing we need for the baby’s room, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Gerard says, smiling sweetly at his husband.

The couple finished most of the decorating of the nursery months earlier: they’d painted 3 of the walls a soft grey and they’d covered 1 of the walls in aqua and coral patterned wallpaper for an accent which the crib sits up against; they’d set up a changing station on top of the dresser; and they’d put up a few little decorative accents like framed paintings on the walls and a little bookshelf below the window. The rocking chair will be the final addition to the room and the soon-to-be parents both can’t wait until it arrives so they can admire their baby’s completed nursery.

The two of them eat breakfast together and afterwards Gerard goes upstairs to take a morning nap in the bedroom while Frank stays downstairs and goes into the den to play a bit of guitar and write some music, plugging his headphones into the amplifier so he doesn’t wake Gerard with electric guitar noise and effects pedal fuzz. 

Gerard is awake again by the time the furniture delivery people arrive at the house. Frank opens the door to greet the two delivery people who then set up a dolly and a ramp to bring the heavy chair up the front steps and into the couple’s home. 

“Is it going upstairs?” one of them asks while the other curiously eyes Gerard’s baby-bump.

“Yeah, I’ll show you where,” Frank says, heading upstairs as Gerard follows behind him.

The delivery people walk up the stairs behind them with the chair. Gerard is slightly annoyed that they didn’t remove their shoes before stepping onto the carpet, but he‘s too polite to comment about it—he’ll just have to do some light vacuuming later (if Frank will let him). After the delivery people place the rocking chair in the corner of the nursery beside the little bookshelf beneath the window, Frank and Gerard go back downstairs with them and Frank signs a piece of paper confirming that the piece of furniture had been delivered. 

After the delivery people leave, Frank takes Gerard’s hand and the couple goes back upstairs to the nursery where Gerard looks on as Frank takes off the protective plastic covering on the rocking chair, revealing the aqua and coral paisley patterned fabric of the chair. Frank tosses the plastic to the side and takes a few steps back until he’s standing next to Gerard. He puts his arm around his pregnant husband’s waist and looks over at him, admiring his beautiful profile—especially his cute, slightly upturned button nose—and taking in the heartwarming smile that’s on his face as he looks around at what will soon be their baby’s room. Frank can’t help but smile too. 

“You happy with it, babe?” Frank asks, affectionately caressing Gerard’s hip where his hand is sitting.

Gerard turns to look at Frank, still smiling, and Frank notices a twinkle in his husband’s eyes as he begins to tear up, suddenly feeling overwhelmed by emotion. “Yeah, I love it. It’s absolutely perfect,” Gerard says sincerely.

Frank smiles and leans in, kissing Gerard’s lips softly for a moment before pulling back and taking his hand.

“C’mon, let’s try it out,” Frank says eagerly, gently pulling Gerard by the hand over to the rocking chair before sitting down on it and patting his lap while looking up at Gerard who’s standing in front of him.

“You want me to sit on your lap?” Gerard says unsurely, wrinkling his nose a little. “Look at me—I’ll crush you,” he laughs, gesturing to his adorably large, pregnant belly. 

Frank furrows his brow and shakes his head. “Baby, don’t be silly, get your cute ass over here...” he says, smiling as he invitingly holds out his arms to the love of his life. 

Gerard smiles and blushes and he carefully sits down sideways on his husband’s lap with his legs hanging over his knees. He puts one arm around Frank’s waist and Frank gently wraps both of his arms around Gerard’s middle, holding the taller man close and gently rocking the chair back and forth using his feet to push off from the floor. 

“I think this is going to be my favourite spot to sit with the baby,” Gerard says softly, leaning his head on Frank’s shoulder as he gently rocks them back and forth in the chair. 

“Yeah, same,” Frank agrees. “We can read to them here, feed them, sing and rock them to sleep...” his voice trails off and quiets as he turns his head and kisses Gerard softly on the forehead.

Gerard smiles. “I can’t wait,” he says. 


	3. Chapter 3

It’s the middle of the afternoon two days before Christmas and Frank is at the grocery store picking up a few ingredients for the side dish he’s going to make to bring to the holiday dinner that his brother-in-law, Mikey, and Mikey’s wife, Kristin, will be hosting at their house tomorrow night. The store is bustling with people doing last minute shopping and Frank can’t wait to get out of here and return home to Gerard. When Frank had left the house a little while earlier Gerard had been obsessively cleaning like he’s been doing for the past few days, preparing their “nest” for the arrival of the baby despite Frank trying to convince him to just relax and rest. Gerard is now at 38 weeks gestation and the couple have been anxiously waiting; there are only two more weeks left until Gerard’s due date. 

Frank is in the organic produce section of the grocery store comparing tomatoes when his phone starts ringing. He fishes it out of the back pocket of his jeans and sees that it’s Gerard calling. He answers right away.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” Frank asks casually as he gently squeezes a tomato to gauge its ripeness.

“Frankie, my water just broke...” Gerard says anxiously on the other end of the line. 

Frank’s stomach does flip-flops for a moment and he puts down the tomato he’s examining as his brain processes what Gerard has just said. 

“Your—_what_? Are you sure?” Frank asks, feeling flustered and in shock as he abandons the shopping cart he’s been pushing around and starts heading towards the exit doors of the grocery store. He really hasn’t prepared for Gerard going into labour this far ahead of his due date. 

“Well, I felt a little _pop_ while I was folding the laundry and then a moment later my underwear was soaked...so, yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s happening,” he says. “I’ve been feeling really crampy since last night, too, but I assumed it was just Braxton-Hicks contractions,” he adds.

“Okay, okay...okay,” Frank says, taking a deep breath. He’s trying not to panic as it sinks in that this is actually happening—their baby will be arriving in just a matter of hours! “Just rest and relax and I’ll be home in 15 minutes, okay?”

“Okay. Drive safe, honey,” Gerard says. 

“I will, baby. See you soon. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Frank rushes out to the parking lot and gets into his car, driving as quickly and as carefully as he can through all the afternoon traffic. He’s feeling a multitude of emotions right now: excitement, fear, impatience—most of all he just really wants to be with Gerard right now and to know that he’s okay.

Meanwhile, at home, Gerard is lying on his side on their bed rubbing slow circles against his belly which is still feeling crampy and uncomfortable. After getting off the phone with Frank, Gerard had phoned their midwife, Cheryl, to let her know that his water had broken. She’d told him to stay calm and to go to the hospital right away so that the labour and delivery nurses can monitor him.

Frank gets home 15 minutes later and Gerard is so relieved when he sees his husband walk into the bedroom. Gerard sits up and scoots to the edge of the bed.

“Hey, G,” Frank says, slightly out of breath from running up the stairs just now. He sits down next to Gerard on the bed and puts his hand on his husband’s lower back. “You didn’t have to sit up for me, babe,” he says, giving Gerard a quick kiss on the lips.

“It’s okay; I needed to change positions anyway,” Gerard says, still gently rubbing his bump. “I’m so thankful you made it back here so quickly.”

“Me too,” Frank says, looking worried. “So, how are you doing? Have you had any contractions? When should we go to the hospital? Should we go now? Should we call Cheryl?” Frank’s heart is pounding and his brain is absolutely whirring and he’s really not sure what to do right now. 

“Frankie...” Gerard says gently, smiling as he envelopes one of Frank’s hands in both of his to ground him. He knows Frank gets like this sometimes when he’s stressed out. Soon, Frank’s brain begins to quiet and he takes a deep breath, coming back into the present moment as he looks into his husband’s calming hazel eyes.

“Thanks,” Frank says. He feels more relaxed now—Gerard has this way of being able to calm him down with just a look.

“I haven’t had any contractions; I just feel super crampy and my back is aching pretty badly now,” Gerard begins. “I already spoke to Cheryl and she said we should go to the hospital right away even if I’m not having contractions yet,” he says.

Frank’s eyes go wide when he hears Gerard say the words “right away.” “Baby, you probably should have _led_ with that important tidbit of information...” Frank says, getting up. “Come on, let’s go,” he says, holding his hand out for Gerard to take. The two of them make their way downstairs and Frank grabs their pre-packed overnight bag that’s sitting by the door before they head out. 

At the hospital, the couple checks in at the main registration desk where they both get white identification bands put around their wrists, and then they make their way to the birthing unit where one of the friendly nurses shows them to their private birthing room. The small room holds a hospital bed with stirrups and a couple of chairs which are against the wall opposite the window. There’s an IV pump next to the bed and a few calming paintings hang on the walls. The nurse gets some information from Gerard such as what time his water broke and whether or not he’s had any contractions, and then she checks his vital signs before handing him a light blue hospital gown to change into and then leaving the room, closing the door behind her. 

Frank helps Gerard undress and put on the hospital gown, which he ties up at the back of Gerard’s neck and around his waist. Then, Gerard carefully sits down on the bed and Frank stands in front of him, looking down at Gerard’s large baby bump, and he smiles, suddenly realizing how excited he is that they’re finally going to meet their baby in a matter of hours.

“Wow, it’s finally happening,” Frank muses, looking down at Gerard now as he smiles. 

“I know...I can hardly believe it,” Gerard says, smiling back. He slightly tilts his head up to receive a soft kiss on the mouth from his husband. “You’ve been so amazingly supportive throughout all of this, Frankie. How lucky am I to be yours?” he says sweetly.

Frank chuckles warmly and reaches forward to tuck a lock of Gerard’s gorgeous black hair behind his ear and then gingerly brushes the back of his hand across Gerard’s cheek for a second, thinking about how amazing Gerard is to have carried their child inside of him for 9 months. “_I’m_ the lucky one, sweetheart,” he says. 

* 

The way Gerard is squeezing Frank’s hand right now is bordering on painful but Frank figures it’s nothing compared to the amount of pain that Gerard is in right now so he just lets G squeeze him as hard as he wants to without complaining. It’s just past midnight on Christmas Eve now and Gerard’s contractions have become extremely intense and are now just 3 minutes apart. Gerard has opted to have a natural birth (except for the use of nitrous oxide—or “laughing gas”) and right now he’s starting to wish he’d just faced his fear of needles and gotten the epidural that Dr. McInnes had suggested he get when she realized he was struggling to control his pain with the laughing gas alone. But, it’s a little too late for that now as Dr. McInnes is announcing that Gerard is fully dilated and crowning and that he’s going to have to start pushing soon.

“You’re doing amazing, Gerard. I’m so fucking proud of you,” Frank says, kissing Gerard’s forehead which is damp with perspiration, making his hair stick to his skin. His cheeks are flushed pink and he looks absolutely exhausted from being in labour for going on 10 hours now.

“I don’t think I can take much more of this,” Gerard whimpers, breathing hard as he looks up at Frank who’s standing next to the head of the bed, holding his hand. Gerard’s legs are open and elevated in the stirrups attached to the bed as Dr. McInnes and 2 nurses are doing their jobs to deliver the baby. 

“You got this, sweetheart. It’s not much longer now; I promise. Just a little bit of pushing and then you’ll finally be holding our baby,” Frank says, smiling down at Gerard and stroking the back of his hand gently with his thumb. 

* 

“Okay, Gerard, get ready to do another big push, hun—you’re almost there...” Dr. McInnes announces, and Frank feels Gerard start to tightly squeeze his hand again as he feels another strong contraction coming on.

Gerard has been pushing for almost 2 hours now and he curses Frank in his head for promising him hours ago that it would “not be much longer.” Gerard begins his rhythmic breathing exercise (which Frank joins in on to show support) while one of the nurses holds the laughing gas mask up to Gerard’s mouth and nose as he pushes. 

“And relax and rest for a moment...” Dr. McInnes says, examining down below as Gerard takes a deep breath and opens his eyes, which he’d been squeezing shut throughout the last contraction.

“That was so good, babe. You’re doing so well,” Frank encourages. “You’re almost there,” Frank says, smiling at Gerard a little.

“You‘ve both been fucking saying that for hours...” Gerard groans, just feeling totally and completely exhausted from the pain and the intense physical exertion of pushing.

Dr. McInnes looks up from between Gerard’s legs and smiles. “Well, this time we mean it—just one more push, Gerard. Are you ready to meet your baby?”

“Fuck yes,” Gerard manages to breathe out, just totally done with this, making both Frank and Dr. McInnes chuckle.

“Okay, one last push now, Gerard...” Dr. McInnes says. 

Gerard tightly grips Frank’s hand again and squeezes his eyes shut, bearing down and pushing as hard as he can as he breathes rhythmically. After about a minute of Gerard pushing, Frank can’t believe his eyes as Dr. McInnes finally holds up their beautiful baby, who’s covered in waxy, white vernix, and announces, “It’s a girl!”

Frank immediately starts crying tears of joy at seeing his daughter for the first time, as does Gerard, and Frank leans down to give Gerard a kiss as their little girl begins to cry the shrill, intense cry of a healthy newborn baby. One of the nurses pulls down the neckline of Gerard’s hospital gown to expose his chest and places their tiny daughter skin-to-skin with Gerard on top of his chest to help with bonding.

Gerard and Frank are just in complete awe of their beautiful baby girl as they gaze down at her. “Oh my God, she’s the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen...” Gerard sniffs, looking up at Frank who’s wearing the exact same awestruck expression on his face.

“She really is, hey?” Frank smiles, wiping his eyes a bit with the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

Dr. McInnes lets Frank cut the baby’s umbilical cord and then the nurses take her from her parents to wipe her off and to examine, weigh, and measure her. 

“You have a couple of really tiny tears, Gerard, but they’ll heal on their own within the next 7 to 10 days,” Dr. McInnes explains. “I can give you a local anesthetic which will numb the area for now, if you like,” she offers.

“Yes, please,” Gerard nods. He’s still in a lot of pain but the rush of excitement that seeing his newborn daughter has given him is sort of acting like a pain reliever right now so he’s not completely aware of exactly how sore he is.

Frank kisses Gerard’s forehead while Dr. McInnes administers the local anesthetic. “You are so fucking amazing, Gerard, you know that? I’m so damn proud of you. Especially for doing all of that without an epidural—wow, you’re fucking incredible, babe,” Frank says.

Gerard smiles. “Thank you, Frankie,” he says. “I seriously couldn’t have gotten through it without you by my side, breathing with me, encouraging me... Having you here with me was everything I needed. I love you so much, honey.”

Frank’s eyes fill with tears again as he’s overwhelmed by emotion, thinking about how lucky he is to have Gerard as his husband. “I love you, too, baby,” Frank says, stroking Gerard’s hair.

*

It’s just after 8 a.m. on Christmas Eve and Gerard is fast asleep in the hospital bed while Frank is sitting on a chair beside the bed holding their daughter, Emily Rose Iero-Way, as he bottle-feeds her some baby formula. Frank hasn’t slept at all since yesterday when they arrived at the hospital around 3 p.m. and although he’s exhausted he can only imagine how much more spent Gerard must be feeling. He’s glad his husband was able to get a little bit of much-needed rest overnight. The nurses have been coming in every few hours to check that Gerard isn’t having any signs of hemorrhage and that the new parents are managing well with feeding and caring for the baby. One of the nurses told Frank that they will likely be able to go home later today if everything is still going as well as it has been with Gerard’s recovery and with the baby’s adjustment to life in the outside world.

Emily finishes her bottle and Frank sets it down on the other chair that’s next to him, his heart melting when she yawns and quivers a little as she does. “Oh, sweetheart...” Frank whispers adoringly, brushing a finger lightly against her cheek as he holds his daughter upright against his shoulder and begins patting her back gently, trying to get her to burp after her feeding. Just as Emily lets out the softest, cutest burp and Frank repositions her back to being cradled in his arms, there’s a light knock on the door and Frank gets up to open it. His face lights up when he sees Mikey and Kristin standing in the doorway; Kristin is holding a little pink teddy bear and a large, pink helium-filled balloon that says “It’s a Girl!” and Mikey is carrying a bouquet of pink flowers in his arms.

“Oh my God...” Mikey gasps lightly, grinning as he takes his first look at his tiny, newborn niece, who’s sleeping soundly in her Papá’s arms.

“Hey, Uncle Mikey,” Frank smiles and steps aside, inviting his two siblings into the room. 

“Frank, she’s beautiful,” Kristin gushes, putting a hand over her heart and trying to keep her voice down as she notices Gerard asleep in the hospital bed.

Mikey quietly shuts the door behind them and hands the flowers to Kristin, who sets them down on the bedside table along with the other gifts they’d brought. “Congratulations, brother,” he says, pulling Frank into a tight, one-armed hug. “I’m so happy for you guys.” 

“Thank you so much, Mikey,” Frank beams. “Wanna hold her?” he asks. 

“Oh, of course,” Mikey nods, holding out his arms as Frank hands Emily over to her uncle for the first time. 

Kristin stands next to Mikey and looks down at Emily as Mikey gently rocks her back and forth in his arms. 

“Wow,” Mikey smiles, looking over at Frank in awe. 

“I know,” Frank chuckles. “My sleeping beauty over there was absolutely amazing throughout everything,” he says, gesturing over towards Gerard.

“How long was he in labour for?” Kristin asks.

“Just over 12 hours,” Frank replies. “And he did it all without an epidural.”

“Holy shit...” Mikey says. “Is that always how long it lasts?”

“I think that’s pretty average, according to one of the nurses—especially for a first-time delivery,” Frank says. 

“How’s he doing now?” Mikey asks, looking over at his brother who’s still fast asleep in bed.

“He’s doing really great, no complications, just exhausted,” Frank says. “They’re saying we’ll probably get to go home later today if everything’s still all good.”

“Sweet,” Mikey nods. 

“Do you guys want coffee or breakfast or anything? There’s a café across the street; I could run over there and pick something up for all of us?” Kristin offers.

“Yeah, that’d be awesome, actually. Thank you, Kristin,” Frank smiles.

“Yeah, thanks, babe,” Mikey says, kissing Kristin’s cheek. “I promise I’ll let you have a turn holding your niece when you get back,” he smiles at his wife as she goes out the door. 

Just as soon as Kristin leaves, there’s another knock on the door and then it opens as a nurse steps into the room.

“Good morning, my name is Rachel. I’m one of the nurses here and I’d like to do Gerard’s morning assessment now,” Rachel says with a kind smile.

“Is it okay if we hold off on the assessment until he wakes up?” Frank asks. “It’s just that this is the longest he’s been asleep after 12 hours of labour...”

“I’m required to assess all of my patients upon starting my shift, and I noticed that the last time Gerard’s vital signs were checked was 4 a.m.,” Rachel explains. “I understand how exhausted you both must be and while I would love to let Gerard rest, it is necessary for me to wake him up to do this assessment.”

“Oh, okay, I understand,” Frank nods, going over to the bed where Gerard is snoring lightly. “Gerard...” Frank says gently, stroking his husband’s cheek a bit until he stirs awake.

“Hmm, Frankie?” Gerard says, rubbing his eyes and shifting a little in bed as he wakes up.

“Morning, sweetheart. I’m so sorry to wake you up... There’s a nurse, Rachel, here to do your assessment now,” Frank says as Gerard opens his eyes.

“Where’s Emily?” he asks, sitting up and becoming more alert when he notices that neither Frank nor Rachel are holding his daughter. 

“She’s right here,” Mikey says, walking over to the bed as he holds Emily in his arms.

“Mikey! Oh my God,” Gerard exclaims with a smile upon seeing his younger brother. 

Mikey carefully hands Emily over to Frank and then leans over the bed to give Gerard a big hug. “Congratulations, brother,” Mikey says. “She’s absolutely beautiful.”

“Thank you, Mikey,” Gerard beams. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Likewise, G,” Mikey says. “Well, I’ll get out of here for a few minutes and let Rachel do that assessment. I’ll talk to you after,” Mikey says.

“Okay. See you in a bit, Mikes,” Gerard says.

“Sorry for interrupting your visit,” Rachel says once Mikey’s out of the room. “It’s always a little difficult to find a good time to come into a family’s room.” 

“Oh, no worries at all,” Frank says with a wave of his hand. 

Rachel takes Gerard’s vital signs (which are all normal), presses on his belly, listens to his lungs, heart and bowel sounds, and then asks him some questions about his pain level and if he’s having any troubles with urination. Next, Rachel asks Frank to put Emily down into the little bassinet beside the bed and she assesses the newborn, listening to her heart and lungs and doing a few tests of her reflexes. When Rachel finishes she informs the new parents that all her findings are normal and that they’ll likely be discharged home by noon today.

Mikey and Kristin return about 10 minutes after Rachel leaves the room, bringing in bagels and coffee with them. Frank sits on the edge of the bed while Mikey and Kristen sit on chairs beside the bed and Emily rests in the bassinet.

“Thank you guys so much—this is my first coffee in 9 months and it’s absolutely amazing,” Gerard says, sipping from his steaming cup of black coffee. 

“I still can’t believe you went 9 months,” Mikey says, shaking his head, knowing how much his older brother loves his coffee. 

“Well, to be fair, I couldn’t stand the smell of it when I was pregnant, so it wasn’t difficult to give it up at all,” Gerard says.

“Either way, I still can’t believe it,” Mikey chuckles. “So, do you feel ready to go home today?” he asks.

“I honestly feel like I couldn’t take another day inside this place or I might go insane, so, yes,” Gerard laughs lightly.

”Oh, I feel you on that—I hate hospitals,” Kristin says. 

“How’s Peppers doing? She miss us?” Frank asks. “Can’t thank you guys enough for looking after her, by the way.” 

”Any time, man,” Mikey says. “If she misses you she’s sure not showing it,” he laughs. 

”Yeah, she’s like, “Oh! Uncle Mikey lets me eat whatever _he_ eats—I love it here!”” Kristin laughs, and Mikey gives her a jokingly disapproving look for ratting him out for feeding Peppers an excessive amount of human food. 

“Oh, she’s in fucking heaven then—she definitely doesn’t give a shit about us,” Frank laughs. 

The siblings all hang out in the hospital room for a little while longer, until they finish their breakfast, and then Mikey and Kristin leave to give the new parents some more time to themselves.

“That was so sweet of them to visit, and to bring gifts and breakfast,” Gerard says, smiling at his husband who’s still sitting on the edge of the bed that he’s sitting up in. 

“Yeah, it was, wasn’t it?” Frank smiles back. 

“I can’t wait to get home and settle her in,” Gerard says, looking over at sweet little Emily, asleep in the bassinet.

“Me too,” Frank agrees, affectionately rubbing Gerard’s knee over top of the blankets as they both gaze lovingly at their daughter.


	4. Chapter 4

“Baby, it’s 3 in the morning...” Gerard giggles lightly against his pillow. 

He’s just gotten back into bed after getting up to have a drink of water in the bathroom and Frank is now lying behind him in a spooning position with his hand down the front of Gerard’s underwear, gently rubbing his fingers against Gerard’s sensitive part.

This moment is the first time in over half a year that Frank and Gerard have been intimate. Emily is 4 weeks old now and Frank just couldn’t wait any longer to make love to his husband again after months of half-heartedly jerking himself off in the shower after getting home from band practice when Gerard was pregnant.

Gerard can’t pretend he isn’t into this because Frank’s fingers are suddenly wet and slipping against Gerard effortlessly as Frank continues to pleasure him. Gerard closes his eyes and moans softly and he smiles a little when he feels Frank’s hard dick pressing firmly up against his ass. 

“Oh, you want me to stop? Is this not a good time for you?” Frank asks teasingly, kissing Gerard’s neck and then up to his ear, making him shiver pleasantly.

“No—oh my _God_...” Gerard moans, feeling Frank suddenly slip two fingers inside him. Gerard takes hold of Frank’s wrist and starts rocking his hips against Frank’s hand, fucking himself on his husband’s callused, tattooed fingers.

“God, that’s fucking sexy, G...the way you’re moving your hips on me,” Frank says in a low whisper as Gerard grinds his hips down on his fingers over and over, moaning softly and making Frank’s dick feel increasingly needy for attention. Frank kisses Gerard’s neck again and sucks gently on his earlobe. “You’re _dripping_ down my hand, babe...wanna fuck you so bad,” he whispers right into Gerard’s ear, his voice dripping with lust. 

“I need that dick, baby...” Gerard whines as Frank takes his wet fingers out of him. Gerard quickly pulls his underwear off and then rolls over to face Frank and kisses him hard on the mouth. 

“You _need_ it, G?” Frank asks between heated kisses, smirking as he rakes his fingers through Gerard’s luscious hair.

“Yes...fuck yes,” Gerard says breathily. His hands are roaming all over Frank’s body as they make out, feeling his hard chest, the muscles rippling his upper back, his firm ass. It’s too dark in the room for Gerard to make out any of Frank’s tattoos—let alone to properly see his face—but Gerard knows that his hand is caressing a pair of tattooed handguns on Frank’s lower back just before Frank pulls Gerard on top of him, making him straddle his body. Gerard lifts up a bit so that Frank can then tug down his own underwear, freeing his hard cock which slaps back lightly against his belly. 

Frank reaches over towards the bedside table on his right and flicks the lamp on, illuminating the room with soft, yellow light. He looks up at Gerard, admiring his beautiful husband: his messy, dyed-black hair is looking effortlessly sexy as it falls across his face and frames his jaw perfectly; the extra baby weight that Frank finds so adorable still clings to Gerard’s lower abdomen, hips and ass; and the way he’s looking down at Frank so lovingly right now just makes Frank want him even more. Frank grips the base of his dick and guides it to Gerard’s entrance, rubbing the head against his wetness a little bit before pushing inside. Gerard closes his eyes as he sinks all the way down on Frank’s dick, groaning pleasantly at the feeling of being filled up, and Frank then holds both of Gerard’s hands, linking their fingers together as Gerard begins to ride him, teasingly slow at first before progressing to a steady, upbeat rhythm. 

“God, you feel so fuckin’ good, G,” Frank breathes out, firmly gripping Gerard’s thighs as he rides him. 

“Frankie, I want you to come inside me,” Gerard says. He grinds his hips down hard on Frank’s dick suddenly, making Frank curse and arch his back into the mattress.

“Oh, fuck yeah, baby... Tell me again,” Frank says, grabbing onto Gerard’s hips now and squeezing, letting his fingernails dig into Gerard’s skin a little.

“I want you to fucking come inside of me, Frankie,” Gerard says in the sexiest voice he can.

Gerard suddenly feels Frank’s fingers start rubbing him again. “I want you to come right on my dick while I’m fucking you,” Frank says.

“_God_, Frankie...” Gerard moans, throwing his head back dramatically, putting on a bit of a show for Frank as he feels electric pleasure ripple below his waist. Frank always knows just how and where to touch him to get him off every single time. “Feels _so_ fucking good.”

“Yeah?” Frank says teasingly, and he can’t help being pleased with himself, feeling how wet Gerard’s getting again as he rubs him.

“Fuck yeah,” Gerard says breathily. 

“You gonna cum for me while you’re riding my dick?” Frank says, knowing how much Gerard enjoys it when he talks dirty like this as he’s getting him off.

“Y-yes, Frankie,” Gerard says shakily, continuing to bounce up and down on Frank’s dick while Frank pleasures him with his fingers. 

“Fuck, I wanna watch you cum so bad, babe...wanna feel you clenching on my dick, feel your wetness gushing all over me...” Frank says, knowing Gerard is super close now. 

“Oh _fuck_, Frankie, I’m coming...” Gerard moans and whimpers disjointedly as he climaxes intensely, squeezing his eyes shut, his body tensing and shaking on top of Frank’s as Frank looks up at him in complete awe. 

“Yeah, baby, keep coming for me...so fucking hot,” Frank says in a strangled voice, relishing the view above him as he continues to rub on Gerard and begins to buck his hips up, fucking deep into Gerard as he rides out his orgasm.

Frank loses it, too, then—feeling Gerard’s tightness rhythmically contracting around his dick and seeing how hot Gerard looks right now coming so hard for him, quickly sends Frank over the edge. 

Gerard looks down at Frank, watching him as he comes: Frank looks incredibly hot with his back arched and his mouth hanging open and his body slightly jolting with pleasure every few seconds as he spills his load inside of Gerard, the latter grinding down hard on his dick the entire time. 

“God_damn_, G...I love watching you come on my fucking dick like that...you’re so sexy, babe,” Frank says breathily, his voice shaky after the intense orgasm. He’s gently running his hands up and down the front of Gerard’s thighs as Gerard comes down from the high of his own orgasm.

Gerard blushes upon hearing Frank’s words. Gerard doesn’t understand how Frank actually finds him sexy right now because he certainly doesn’t feel like he is with the extra baby weight he’s carrying. But Frank constantly makes him feel beautiful by reminding him in moments such as this how much he loves how he looks. “You’re amazing, Frankie,” Gerard says, sighing pleasantly as he smiles down at his husband. 

“No, _you_,” Frank smiles back, gently pulling Gerard down by his arms until their faces are close enough that he can kiss him passionately, which he does, and Gerard kisses back eagerly. “I love you so much, baby,” Frank says against Gerard’s lips.

“I love you, too,” Gerard says back before pressing his lips against Frank’s again and continuing to make out with him.

Just as Frank starts tangling his fingers in Gerard’s hair, losing himself in the kiss, they both suddenly become still when they hear Emily begin to make fussing sounds through the baby monitor, which is perched upon the bedside table with its blue lights flickering.

“Shit—do you think we woke her up?” Frank asks as Gerard climbs off of him and sits on the edge of the bed. 

Gerard shakes his head. “I don’t think we were _that_ loud,” he says. “She’s due for a feeding and a change now—that’s probably all it is,” he says. 

Frank sits up, scoots forward so he’s sitting behind Gerard with his legs on either side of him, and lovingly wraps his arms around his husband’s waist. “I’ll go to her this time,” he says, gently kissing the soft skin of Gerard’s right shoulder. 

“It’s okay, babe; I’ve got it,” Gerard says sweetly. He’s tired and it technically _is_ Frank’s turn to attend to their daughter, but he’s already up and besides, he enjoys spending these quiet, nighttime moments with Emily. 

“Well, let me at least go make the bottle while you change her,” Frank insists, wanting to help as he knows how exhausted Gerard has been. 

“Okay,” Gerard says, smiling. He’s so thankful that Frank has been so amazingly helpful with Emily these past 4 weeks—not that he expected anything less from his exceptionally sweet husband. Sometimes he wonders how he got so damn lucky. “Thank you, Frankie,” he says. He gives both of Frank’s bare knees a gentle squeeze before getting up and going into the walk-in closet momentarily, coming out wearing a black, 3/4 length silk designer housecoat which Frank had bought for him in France last year as a surprise gift while he was on tour with his band. 

Frank stands up and pulls his boxers back on, admiring how Gerard looks in that housecoat, and then he gives his husband a soft kiss on the cheek on his way to the bathroom to wash his hands. 

Gerard walks across the hall from their bedroom and into the nursery while Frank heads downstairs to make a bottle for Emily after washing up in the bathroom. Frank’s wishing he’d put on a housecoat or a sweater or _something_ before he’d come downstairs because it’s freezing cold down here and he feels goosebumps form on the backs of his upper arms when he opens the fridge to grab the pitcher of filtered water. He takes out a clean bottle and fills it up about halfway with water before putting a couple scoops of formula in and shaking it up until it’s all mixed together well. Frank then microwaves the bottle and puts a drop of the warm formula on his forearm to check that the temperature is safe for Emily. He then makes his way back upstairs to the nursery where Gerard is standing in front of the changing table, finishing up with changing Emily’s soiled diaper. 

“Oh, look what Papá’s brought you, Em...” Gerard says with quiet enthusiasm, seeing Frank come into the room with the bottle of formula which he knows Emily has been waiting eagerly for by the way she’s still fussing as she squirms around on her back on the changing table. 

Frank gazes adoringly at Gerard as he carefully scoops their fussing daughter up into his arms. “I love you so much, sweet girl,” Gerard coos softly, kissing Emily’s cheek before walking over to the rocking chair and sitting down. Frank follows and hands the baby bottle to Gerard before sitting down on the carpeted floor in between his knees, facing forward. Then Gerard puts the nipple of the bottle to Emily’s lips and she latches on easily and begins eagerly gulping down the formula. 

Frank starts giggling softly as he sits there on the floor and he leans his head against one of Gerard’s knees.

“What’s funny?” Gerard asks gently, smiling as he looks down at Emily who’s now as content as ever as she suckles on her bottle. 

“Just the sounds she makes,” Frank says, giggling again, listening to Emily drink from her bottle. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over how adorable she is.”

Gerard chuckles, gazing down at his beautiful daughter. “Me neither,” he says.


	5. Chapter 5

It’s late June and Gerard, Frank and 6-month-old Emily are over at their best friends Ray and Christa’s house for a small barbecue, along with Mikey and Kristin. The afternoon California weather is sunny, warm and perfect as the six adults and one infant spend time together in Ray and Christa’s expansive backyard. The large pool is just steps away from where they’re sitting and there’s a spacious green area a little beyond it with picturesque professional landscaping that looks like it belongs on a two-page spread in a home and garden magazine or something. 

Ray has just taken the vegan burgers he’s grilled off of the smoking barbecue as Kristin helps Christa set out some side dishes and burger toppings in dishes in the middle of the patio table. Gerard and Frank are sitting next to each other on one side of the table; Frank has Emily propped up in his lap and he’s feeding her bits of potato salad from off his plate as Mikey looks on across from them on the other side of the table.

“Frankie, please don’t give her any more of that,” Gerard says as Emily eagerly nibbles another bit of potato salad from off the tip of Frank’s finger.

“She loves it, babe,” Frank chuckles.

“Oh, I can see that,” Gerard says, smiling as he sees how content Emily looks as she’s being fed yummy solid food by her Papá. “But I don’t want baby-vomit in our future, so...no more, please,” he says. 

“Okay, fine,” Frank says—he definitely does not want baby-vomit in their future either. Mikey smirks at Frank from across the table, apparently amused at seeing Frank getting bossed around by his older brother. 

“Thank you, honey,” Gerard says, and Frank leans over to kiss his cheek.

Emily starts making grabby-hands at Frank’s dinner plate, then, causing Mikey to laugh at his niece’s cuteness. 

“Daddy said no more, Em,” Frank says gently, pushing his plate further back from the edge of the table and out of Emily’s reach. “She fuckin’ loves to grab things now. And she’s quick, too,” Frank says to Mikey.

“Like a little ninja,” Mikey says.

“Yeah, exactly. Like a little baby ninja,” Frank chuckles.

Ray serves everyone their burgers and then sits down at the table with them all as they begin to put toppings onto their burgers. 

“Frankie, d’you want another beer?” Ray asks, seeing Frank’s empty bottle as he gets up from his seat. Frank is the only other person here besides himself who drinks alcohol—Gerard and Mikey have been sober for years and Kristin and Christa also choose not to drink. Gerard’s never minded that Frank continues to drink even though he’s sober now as it doesn’t make it any harder for him to abstain, and now he doesn’t even really think about it, especially with Emily in the picture—if he ever needed another reason to stay sober, she’s it.

“Of course. Do I look fuckin’ dead?” Frank laughs. “Thanks, man,” he says when Ray hands him a bottle of Corona, chuckling as he does.

“Everyone else good on drinks?” Ray asks, looking around and seeing no more empty glasses. 

There’s a collective “yeah, we’re good” and then Ray stands at the end of the table in front of his chair. 

“I’d like to say a couple things,” Ray says, getting everyone’s attention as he stands there with his drink in hand. Everyone quiets down and listens.

“Just wanted to thank you guys so much for coming out today. I know how busy we all are and it means a lot that we all still make the time to get together as often as we do. Christa and I feel so blessed to have such amazing best friends—basically family—to spend time with and to enrich our lives. We love you guys dearly. Cheers!” Ray finishes by holding up his drink and everyone cheers and holds theirs up and clinks glasses with one another. 

“Ray, that was such a sweet toast,” Kristin says, and everyone agrees.

Ray sits down in his seat again. “Aw, thanks, guys. It was just some words from the heart,” he says.

“You are too pure for this world, Toro,” Gerard says sincerely, making everyone else chuckle and voice their agreement.

“He must be protected at all costs,” Mikey adds, eliciting a similar response from the others.

Frank adjusts Emily’s position on his lap and holds her around her middle with one arm while he takes a bite of his burger with his free hand. 

“You okay with holding her while you eat?” Gerard asks.

Frank nods with a mouthful of burger and gives Gerard an “OK” sign. “Yeah, I’m good, babe,” he says once he’s able to speak.

“Does she let you two sleep through the night now?” Christa asks, looking over at Gerard and Frank.

“Yeah, for the most part. There’s the occasional time she’ll wake up fussing but she usually sleeps about 6 hours straight through the night now,” Gerard says.

“Oh, that’s good. I’m sure you two are glad to finally be getting a full night’s sleep now,” Christa says.

“Yeah, I honestly appreciate my sleep so much more since we’ve had her,” Frank chuckles.

“Gerard, this will probably embarrass you a little, but I’m just gonna put it out there: you look so freakin’ amazing,” Kristin says, and Christa voices her agreement. “How’d you get back into shape so quickly?” Kristin asks.

Gerard laughs and blushes, feeling a little embarrassed just as his sister-in-law had predicted. “Thank you,” he says. “I’ve been doing a lot of walking and running with Emily in the stroller since the weather has been better, and I’ve just been trying to eat well. That’s basically all it is,” he says.

“Well, damn, you did an amazing job,” Kristin says.

“Frankie, remind me what’s going on with your band these days?” Ray asks, starting a new conversation which doesn’t involve discussing Gerard’s tight body. “All I know is that the new record is amazing but I forget when you’re leaving for tour.”

“Oh, thanks, man,” Frank says in response to Ray’s compliment. “Our US tour is kicking off at the end of July and then we play a few festivals in the UK in September,” Frank says.

“Oh, wow. You’re gonna be out of town for most of the next few months then, hey?” Ray says.

Frank sighs and nods. “Yep...” he says, looking down at Emily who’s happily sitting in his lap, making adorable baby noises as he bounces her on his knee. He kisses the top of her head.

“Ah, that’ll be the first time you’re away from her for that long,” Ray nods, now understanding why Frank had sighed at the mention of touring which Ray knows Frank has always loved.

“Yeah,” Frank nods. “I mean, at least right now she’s young enough that she won’t really understand that I’m gone, but I’m gonna miss a lot of her growing up, even in two months—a lot of changes happen in a short amount of time when they’re this young.”

“Yeah, true,” Ray nods. “At least with the way technology is these days you can still “see” her and Gerard everyday through video chats and stuff.”

“Oh, yeah, for sure. And that definitely helps a lot.”

Emily starts to fuss as she sits in her Papá’s lap and Frank picks her up so she’s “standing” on his legs, facing him. “What is it, sweetheart?” he coos and kisses her cheek. He makes a silly face at her and she gives him a big smile which in turn makes Frank smile and makes his heart feel warm. 

Gerard looks on adoringly at his husband and their daughter bonding. “Aww, is Papá making you smile, sweet girl?” he says gently, beaming at Emily. “He makes Daddy smile, too,” Gerard says, and Frank leans over to give his husband a quick, sweet kiss on the lips.

“Here, you take her now, babe,” Frank says, handing Emily over to Gerard. “I’ll be right back,” he says as he gets up from his seat and heads inside the house to the bathroom to take a leak.

“Can I hold her for a bit, G?” Mikey asks.

“Yeah, of course,” Gerard says. The brothers both stand up and Gerard hands Emily to Mikey from across the table.

“I can’t wait til we have a baby of our own,” Kristin says longingly, admiring her niece.

“That gonna be sometime soon?” Gerard asks. 

Mikey smiles and looks over at his wife lovingly. “Yeah, hopefully,” he nods. “We’ve been trying—Kristin would be pregnant right now if we could.” Kristin blushes.

“Aww, that’s great, you guys. Emily’s gonna have a little cousin soon,” Gerard says excitedly. “What about you guys? Any plans?” Gerard asks, gesturing to Ray and Christa.

“Sometime in the next year is what we’ve been planning,” Christa says.

“Yeah,” Ray nods, smiling. 

“Multiple cousins—even better,” Gerard says with a smile.

“So, Frank’s going on tour next month?” Mikey says to Gerard as Emily reaches upwards, making grabby hands for the black Dodgers cap that he’s wearing. 

“Yeah, he is,” Gerard nods. “I’m gonna miss him so much. I don’t know what he’s gonna do without us being out on the road for that long,” he says, just as Frank walks back out onto the patio. 

“What was that? You don’t know what I’m gonna do without you when I’m on the road?” Frank asks, coming up behind Gerard and kissing the top of his pretty head. 

Gerard blushes and tilts his head back for a second to look up at Frank. “Yeah,” he says.

Frank smiles and kisses Gerard’s cute little nose before he takes his seat. “Well, you’re not wrong,” he says.


End file.
